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The Boulevard Saint-Germain was the most important part of Haussmann's renovation of Paris (1850s and '60s) on the Left Bank. The Boulevard replaced numerous small streets which approximated its path, including, from West to East (to the current Boulevard Saint-Michel), the rue Saint-Dominique, rue Taranne, rue Sainte-Marguerite, rue des Boucheries and rue des Cordeliers.[1] One landmark removed to make way for the project was the prison of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés which stood entirely on what is now the Boulevard, just West of what is now the Passage de la Petite Boucherie.[1]

The Boulevard Saint-Germain derives its name from the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés which dates back to the Middle Ages. This area around the boulevard is also referred to as the Faubourg ("Suburb") Saint-Germain which developed around the abbey.

In the 17th century, the Saint-Germain quarter became a major site for noble town houses, or hôtels particuliers. This reputation continued throughout the 19th century, where the old aristocracy of the Saint-Germain quarter is frequently contrasted with the new upper bourgeoisie of the Right Bank, having their homes on the Boulevard Saint-Honoré or on the Champs-Élysées (as noted, for example, in the novels of Honoré de Balzac and Marcel Proust).

From the 1930s on, Saint-Germain has been associated with its nightlife, cafés and students (the boulevard traverses the Latin Quarter). Home to a number of famous cafés, such as Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore, the Saint-Germain quarter was the centre of the existentialism movement best associated with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. On 27 March 2000, this was commemorated by the city of Paris which renamed the area in front of the Saint-Germain Church, at the intersection of the Boulevard Saint-Germain and rue Bonaparte, the Place Jean-Paul Sartre et Simone de Beauvoir.[2]

After the Second World War the Boulevard Saint-Germain became the intellectual and cultural site for Parisian life. Philosophers, authors and musicians filled the night clubs and brasseries that line the boulevard.

The Boulevard Saint-Germain today is a thriving high-end shopping street with stores from Armani to Rykiel. The cafes continue to be sites for intellectual and political gatherings and the nightlife continues to thrive. Nearby is the Institut d'études politiques ("Sciences Po"), one of the finest political science schools in Europe, or the College des Ingenieurs, a leading graduate school of management.

Some vestiges of the streets removed to make way for the Boulevard still remain today. There are still a few sections of original streets, e.g., the current rue Gozlin, part of the former rue Sainte-Marguerite, which now consists of a single very short city block between the Place du Quebec (at the rue Bonaparte) and the rue des Ciseaux.

As well, parts of original streets have more or less been maintained in their original state, but incorporated into the Boulevard as short narrow sections separated from the main Boulevard by a traffic island. For example, there is the South side of the Boulevard at the Place Henri Mondor, South of the Odeon Metro station, which is the former rue des Cordeliers (later renamed rue de l'Ecole de Médecine) and an extension of the current rue de L'Ecole de Médecine, but is now considered as being the Boulevard Saint-Germain. Another example is the South side of the Boulevard just East of the rue des Ciseaux, which extends the current rue Gozlin, formerly rue Sainte-Marguerite. The North side of the rue Gozlin and this short section extending it represent exactly how much further South the Abbey extended before the creation of the Boulevard Saint-Germain.

In some sections of the Boulevard, a side of the former street was preserved and the buildings are much older than the Haussmannian facades that comprise most of the rest of the buildings on the Boulevard. For example, the buildings on the North side of the Boulevard between the rue de Buci and the rue de Seine are the original North side the former rue des Boucheries (renamed rue de l'Ecole de Médecine in 1846).[3]

At 175 Boulevard Saint-Germain at the corner of the rue des Saint-Peres stands a building originally built in 1678 and still bearing the street sign for the Rue Taranne.